Rubberband Humanitarianism [Abstract]

Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 1 (1987)

Humanitarian action is always complicated by, but often blind to, its
political influence. The intimacy of these two spheres of activity calls into
question the basis of what political administrations deem humanitarianism.
Unavoidably, definitional problems arise. These problems were exacerbated by the
Reagan administration's insistence that non-military aid to the Contras in
Nicaragua should be described as humanitarian. Bruce Nichols explores the way in
which the concept of humanitarian aid has been stretched beyond recognition for
political ends.